Table of Contents
The eighth essential of the AACN’s DNP essentials, advanced nursing practice, requires DNP graduates to be prepared to develop therapeutic relationships, evaluate illness and health parameters, utilize advanced clinical skills, mentor other professionals, and educate clients (The American Association of Colleges of Nurses, 2006). The competency is fundamental to the DNP goal of promoting optimality in advanced nursing practice through ensuring the highest level of personal nurse competency and leadership roles for optimal output from other professionals. Competencies on the essential are important indicators of the successful completion of the DNP program and the ability to of a DNP prepared nurse to offer the highest level of care. A personal reflection on developed competencies, from the course, is offered.
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Conducting a Comprehensive and Systematic Assessment of Parameters
My preparation for the assessment of health and illness parameters is sufficient and is based on the essential of scientific underpinnings for practice. I have learnt of the dynamics around care and the dependencies that the dynamics create among different stakeholders in the health care sector. Theories such as the Orem’s self-care deficit theory (Hartweg, 2015) and concepts such as the structural-functionalists concepts that identify the role of different parties to a phenomenon (Prachett & Rees, 2017) are examples of underpinnings that I have learnt into the competency. I am also prepared to collaborate with nurses who specialize in different areas of specializations and other care professionals. My assessment of health and illness parameters, therefore, will include all possible factors, stakeholders, and dynamic, in systematic approaches for effective preventive and treatment measures.
Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating Therapeutic Interventions based on Science
I have developed knowledge on scientific underpinnings for nursing practice, and other scientific concepts and theories, which include leadership, cultural, and statistical concepts. The knowledge has prepared me for the understanding of factors to therapeutic interventions for different conditions and the interactions between the interventions and internal and external factors to patients’ environment. The roles of the family, religion, and other cultural beliefs are examples of developed knowledge that I am prepared to use in designing, implementing, and evaluating therapeutic interventions.
Developing and Sustaining Therapeutic Relationships and Partnerships
My competencies in organizational leadership, inter-professional collaborations, and partnerships with patients and their families guarantees my competence in developing and sustaining therapeutic relationships and partnerships with patients and professionals for optimal care. With my understanding of dynamics around patients and barriers to partnerships, such as attitudes and emotional stability, I have learnt the need to be patient and tolerant to my partners and noted the benefits of appreciating others. Applying these attributes has helped me to elicit cooperation from others and develop my confidence in my preparedness to develop and sustain therapeutic relationships and partnership for optimal patients’ outcomes.
Designing, Delivering, and Evaluating Evidence-based Care to Improve Patient Outcomes
I am also prepared for a high-level competence in the designing, delivery, and evaluation of evidence-based care for improved patient outcomes. My critical analysis potential that has developed from rigorous assessments and discussion forums, leadership potentials, knowledge on scientific underpinnings, knowledge on analytical methods, and the role of collaborations explain the preparedness.
Guiding, Mentoring, and Supporting other Nurses
Experience with peer leadership and mentorship illustrates my preparedness for the guiding, mentoring, and support competencies of the essential. My nurtured transformational leadership skills have demonstrated my ability to empower and support people for the realization of desired goals (Murray, 2017). I, however, need to improve on my physical availability for improved effectiveness in the competency.
Educating and Guiding Individuals and Groups
My developed research and analytical skills for knowledge development, understanding of possible deficiencies among groups of stakeholders, and my leadership potential has established my readiness to educate and guide people and groups in complex transitions. I can understand dynamics of transitions, inform people on the dynamics, and direct people on necessary steps for passing through transitions.
Application of Conceptual and Analytical Skills in Evaluating the Links among Policy Issues
I am also prepared, based on my analytical skills and knowledge of scientific underpinnings and dynamics in the nursing environment, to use conceptual and analytical skills the analysis of the relationships among the different factors in the nursing environment. An experience with the evaluation of the relationships among practice, a hospital, and the hospital’s surrounding community for policy development demonstrated my capacity into the readiness.
Conclusion
The reflection on my preparedness to realize the goals of advanced nursing practice essential of the AACN identifies my readiness for practice as a graduate DNP. The reflection identifies by readiness to assess health and illness parameters, to design, implement, and evaluate therapeutic interventions based on sciences, and to develop and sustain therapeutic relationships and partnerships. I am also prepared for the development, delivery, and evaluation of evidence-based care, for educating and guiding people through necessary nursing transitions, and for evaluating links among involved issues to care delivery. I am also ready to guide, mentor, and support other nurses, though I need to improve on my availability for a greater level of influence. The DNP essential and its competencies are important to my preparedness for clinical, research, leadership, and collaborative nursing roles for improved patient outcomes. The reflection reveals my preparedness for the DNP role under the advanced nursing essential.
- Hartweg, D. (2015). ‘Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit nursing theory.’ In Smith, M. & Parker, M. (Eds.). Nursing theories and nursing practice, 4th Ed. (pp. 105-132). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
- Murray, E. (2017). Nursing leadership and management: For patient safety and quality care. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
- Prachett, R. & Rees, P. (2017). ‘Theories underpinning kinship care.’ In Horton, J. & Pyer, M. (Eds.). Children, young people and care. (pp. 44-57). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
- The American Association of Colleges of Nurses. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced practice nurse. The American Association of Colleges of Nurses. Retrieved from: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/dnp/Essentials.pdf.